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Bye Bye, Summer

The St. Lawrence River, seen from Clayton, N.Y.
 
My last post was a hello post and this is a good-bye post. It's good-bye to summer, 2019. September is still warm in New York City, but I anticipate that my electric bills will begin to shrink as the air conditioner is less used. I don't anticipate wearing a jacket for at least several weeks, but soon my short-sleeve t-shirts will be washed and put away and long sleeves will take their place. I haven't seen any pumpkins at the farm stands I visited in Connecticut today, but I did buy my first apples of the season. I'm not rushing ahead, but I am looking ahead to all the activities of the fall.  
 
A favorite view -- the St. Lawrence River and K's dock
 
Last Saturday night I was enjoying the last Saturday before Labor Day in one of my favorite towns, Clayton, N.Y. The weather was perfect and in my entire week away, there was only one day of rain. I enjoyed sunny days on the St. Lawrence River and during my visit to Canada. It was a great end to summer with lots of time with favorite people, a great concert in Clayton and a fabulous quick trip to Ottawa. Ottawa deserves a post of its own, which I hope to do during September.  
 
The National Gallery of Canada
 
I spent a great afternoon at the National Gallery of Canada. I began with the show of Gaugin Portraits and finished the visit with one of the best photography shows I've ever seen, featuring the work of Dave Heath. I was unfamiliar with his work, but will seeking out anything else I can find. I hoped to buy a guide, but sadly for me, they were sold out.  
 
I'm now happily home and once again enmeshed in home activities. Weight Watchers -- a few too many treats while I was away -- the routine of my Y Yoga and water aerobics starting next week again, physical therapy and getting ready for my team's annual walk in October for caregivers for people with dementia in Manhattan. I'll be getting back to blogging regularly, too. I have several books to share and I'll also be working on my mystery blog, Coffee Light and Mysteries (Mostly) Noir.   
 
 As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a great weekend! Blog friends in the path of Dorian, prayers for safety.
 

Hello, Canada!


I was delighted to get a copy of Hello, (Canada Edition) with an article about my dear blogger friend, Marie at The English Kitchen.  I found Marie's blog early in my blogging days and I am quite grateful. I love reading her extraordinary recipes as well as getting to know Marie. Please stop by and make her acquaintance, especially if you're a fan of sweets.

  One of the featured recipes is beer battered cod and doesn't it look delicious!
I'd love to be visiting with my English blog buddies and sharing a fish and chips lunch.
 
I'm not on the way to England, but I will be able to say hello to Canada this afternoon. I'm on my way to Ottawa -- a favorite city -- and then a visit to Northern New York and leisure time with dear friends on the St. Lawrence River. Hello, Canada and hello, Kathy and Jess! 
 
It's rainy and a little dreary here. My fingers are crossed that the flights won't be too off-schedule and I do get to say hello, Canada sometime this afternoon. On a very positive note, the heat has broken for now.
 
As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

It's (Once Again) Time for Coffee Light

But first a quick visit to the Chrysler Building,
the beautiful Art Deco building on the right
 
I was on my way to a medical appointment this morning (yes, Sunday morning!) and as I walked east on 32nd Street I looked north. There in all its Art Deco splendor was the Chrysler Building. Sometimes I think I've written about everything in New York already, but as I was putting this post together I'd never mentioned one of my favorite buildings. 
 
On a totally unrelated topic, I've gotten Coffee Light and Mysteries (Mostly) Noir going again with a post about my trip to the Deadly Ink mystery conference in New Jersey last weekend. It was a last minute -- I booked my hotel room on the last day conference rates were available -- and totally fun experience. I was nervous on the train to New Jersey, as I was going to an event where I knew no one. But it was a lively and friendly group and I hope to return next year. 
 
The rest of the day included lunch with my college roommate, grocery shopping and a visit to Macy's to peruse electric frying pans. I haven't used one since my graduate school days in Nashville, but I think that would be an easy fix for my no-gas cooking issues. I didn't find exactly what I think I need, so my next project is an internet search for the perfect frying pan. What are you doing tonight?
 
As ever, thanks for visiting and here's to a good week ahead!

(Belatedly) Wedding Wednesday Goes to New Jersey

The groom and wedding guests before the wedding
 
I'm always on the lookout for wedding moments and never know when I'm going to find them. Last Saturday morning I was at a conference at a hotel in suburban New Jersey. I was listening to a panel discussion on mystery novels when a Baraat -- the procession before a Hindu or Sikh wedding - went past the window in front of me. The panel was interesting, but I had to go outside and see the procession. 
 
The groom traditionally is led to the site of the wedding on a Ghodi, or white horse. He is accompanied by family, groomsmen and friends, and in this case, Buttercup. The groom was also accompanied by a drone -- top center of the picture -- which was there to capture all of the pre-wedding festivities. I was awed by the beautiful clothes that the guests were wearing. Alas, I didn't get to see the bride. 
 
It's a beautiful summer day in New York today. I'm feeling very sloth-like, but I'm going to get a few long overdue errands out of the way and then plan a visit to the Metropolitan Museum. What are your plans for the rest of the weekend?  
 
As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool!  

 

The Gas Line Saga, Part II

 Flowers on Fifth Avenue. #momentfromlastweek
 
From time to time my friends who don't live in New York tell me what an exciting life I must lead. I'm sure they're thinking of television shows and movies where there's always a place to park  and life's problems are resolved in at most sixty minutes. Even the grittier Law and Order wraps up every issue in sixty minutes, no matter how difficult the issue is. 
 
Life in New York is not "Friends" or "Will and Grace," and the last week has brought this back to me, big time. Right now a truck is parked next to my building. It is a "temporary" source of heat so we can have hot water. We spent twenty-four hours last week without hot water while the NYC Department of Transportation provided a parking permit for the truck. In the next three months -- in time for "heat season" -- whatever needs to be done to our furnace will be done, so that our 1910 building will have heat. It's not glamorous, but it's real life in New York City.
 
It's six days into the Gas Line Saga and so far I'm faring okay. Right now I'm depending on my trusty microwave and beginning to start using the air fryer. I baked one small pudding cheesecake in the air fryer and I'm ready to get into more serious baking. I realized I needed a small baking pan that would fit into my air fryer, and I will look for that in the next few days. Right now I think the only other thing I may need is a single burner for eggs, pancakes and stir-frys. Fortunately, I don't have a family to feed, so I can get by with pretty much with what I have.  
 
I have two friends in the neighborhood that have not had gas in their buildings for the last year. When I learned this I realized that my building's problem was not rare or isolated. Sadly, as infrastructure is neglected, these issues will occur more frequently, and that, my friends, is real life in New York City.       
 
I'll be back tomorrow with a very fun Wedding Wednesday. I hope you'll be back to join me.
 
As ever, thanks for visiting and thanks, too, for all the good suggestions and good wishes. Much, much appreciated.